The present invention relates to color facsimile printing devices and their manufacture, and to a method for printing images. The printing devices covered by this invention are suitable for a broad range of applications which include identification, novelty, duplicating and short-run printing, and photographic film uses.
In heretofore known systems for producing images from printing elements, thermoplastic crazing, electrophotographic processes, and processes which provide for the production of single images have been described. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,465 issued to Bartlett, a thermoplastic layer of a printing master is provided with surface deformations by means of crazing. The deformations preferably traverse the thermoplastic layer to contact printing ink or a dye solution which may be disposed in an intermediate layer which is adjacent to the thermoplastic layer. The thermoplastic layer may contain a photoconductor to permit the use of the masters in positive image formation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,630,729, issued to Bach, describes an electrophotographic process which employs a receptor provided with a number of photoconductive coatings, each of which contain a binder, a photoconductor, a sensitizing component, and a soluble dye compound. Color copies are produced from multicolor originals when copy sheets are pressed into contact with the receptor to thus activate a toner which effects transfer of the dye color to the copy sheets.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,302, issued to Grohe, discloses a single impression multicolor printing device comprising a base layer upon which are adhered a randomly dispersed layer of microbeads. The microbeads are coated with a light-sensitive material and a photographic color filter. The printing process comprises exposing the printing device through color separation negatives, processing, and contacting the developed plate with an ink which contains a second component of a color former, thus forming a primary color which can be transferred to a transfer sheet.
None of the aformentioned patents describe printing devices and processes for producing printed images which involve the exposure of a photosensitive ink that is disposed in capillary or cup-shaped pores of a printing element. For this and other reasons which will be readily apparent from the following, the present invention offers advantages over the prior art that include the ability to print images with greater convenience and less complexity.